Fittest Female Athletes In The World

Presenting The 9 Fittest Female Athletes On The Planet

The World Athletics Championships in Beijing draws to a close this weekend. It has been a belter. Usain Bolt cemented his status as God Among Men. World records tumbled more spectacularly than Bolt being taken out by that wayward Segway. And female athletes across track and field proved yet again what sporting box office they bring to their sports with high drama and fierce competition on display in the vast majority of events. Here we pay tribute to the fittest, fastest, strongest women on the planet. You'll be hard pressed to find more inspiring additions to your Instagram feed.

Jessica Ennis-Hill

This list wouldn't be complete unless our very own, home-bred superstar athlete, Jessica Ennis-Hill, led the field. At 29, she's already a British athletics legend as well as the small title of being world and Olympic champion at the Heptathlon. She's got an impressive trophy cabinet behind her too:

Former European heptathlon champion

Former world indoor pentathlon champion

Current British national record holder for heptathlon

Former British record holder for 100m hurdles, high jump and indoor pentathlon

And now, after having had a baby, she has just won gold (heptathlon) at the 2015 World Championships. Clearly, this is one very, VERY fit woman.

Darya Klishina

At 24, Darya Klishina has done more than enough to make it into our list of the fittest female athletes in the world. Competing for Russia in the long jump, Darya has dominated athletics headlines since 2007, when she was crowned European Youth Olympic champion aged just 16. Since then, she's won gold at the European Indoor Championships (2013), taken bronze at the European Championships and is currently competing in the final of the 2015 World Championships.

To put this into context, her longest jump is over 7m. That's nearly double the length of a London black cab. She trains twice a day, with only one rest day per week, during pre-season training camps and typically focuses on special running routines, long jump practice, more running and then lots of stretching.

Allyson Felix

On the cusp of turning 30, the dawn of beer bellies and bad fitness injuries for us mortals, Allyson Felix is killing it. Competing in the 100m, 200m and 400m, this American athlete is the 2012 Olympic champion for 200m, a 3 x world champion and 2 x Olympic silver medallist (both also for 200m). This year, she took the gold for 400m at the World Championships which she ran in under 50 seconds. She ran 400m faster than most people go to the toilet.

At school, she was teased for having 'chicken legs'. But anyone that can leg-press 700 lbs is alright by us. She trains 4.5 hours a day, 6 days a week with the morning usually being set aside for track and the afternoons in the weights room. Plyometric training, like vertical leaps, squat jumps and box jumps, is an essential component and, to build speed, it's mostly interval training. Nice.

Blanka Vlasic

You might argue that standing 6'4 gives Vlasic an advantage, but this athlete has proven her class time and again. The 31-year-old Croatian lines up in a star-studded high jump final this weekend. If she wins, it would be an unprecedented third world title for her. And she's accomplished that despite illness and a lengthy list of injuries.

Melissa Bishop

This weekend's 800m final will be closely contested, but leading the pack is this 27-year-old Canadian. She flew through the field in her semi final to claim a place in the medals showdown with the fastest qualifying time, a personal best and a new Canadian record. As well as track work, her Instagram reveals that squats and other leg work in the gym is responsible for her pace (fun-runners, take note). She's also trained with Mo Farah, so she's bound to win.

Genzebe Dibaba

She doesn't have her own Instagram account but you need to know about this athlete. Earlier this year, the Ethiopian middle- and long-distance runner clocked a world record in the 1500m. The previous record had stood for 22 years. She took home the world title in that distance earlier this week and on Sunday she'll be running in the 5000m final, too. Which is to say the woman can shift. Incidentally, her sister is a three-times Olympic champion, too.

Caterine Ibargüen Mena

This girl can jump: Columbian Caterine Ibargüen Mena does long jump, high jump and triple jump. And she does it well, with a gold medal under her belt from the current World Championships, plus a silver from the London 2012 Olympics. "I honestly believe I could have jumped farther," she said back in 2012, proving that she's got a champion's grit to go with the physical prowess. "When I received my medal, I felt I wanted the other [gold] one.”

Dafne Schippers

Think you're killing it at the gym? Dutch heptathlete Dafne Schippers won the 200m gold medal at the World Championships, with a time of 21.63 seconds – the fastest time in history. Having trained as an athlete from the age of 9, the 23-year old shone in the European Championships last year by taking home gold for both the 200m and 100m, and – in addition to recent events – is showing a whole lot of promise for Rio 2016.

Tianna Bartoletta

If you like winning, you'll like Tianna Bartoletta. The American is a track and field athlete who brings back the goods: case in point, winning golds in long jump in the World Championships at Beijing this year and Helsinki in 2005, and at London 2012 in the 4x100m relay. She also likes Frank Sinatra, is a massive book worm – and she lifts. Swoon.